Keep up to date with Louise Staley and your community.

The Liberals will bring back Country Roads and Bridges in Ripon

Posted on April 18, 2018

An elected Liberal government will fix country roads and save country lives.Opposition Leader Matthew Guy announced today if elected, the Liberals will bring back the $160 million Country Roads and Bridges Program.

By contrast, Daniel Andrews axed the program when he was elected in 2014, leaving councils struggling to meet the cost of maintaining local roads.

Approximately $1 million in grants will be provided to Victoria’s 40 rural shires each year over four years.

The grants will help restore and rehabilitate council-maintained roads and bridges, which have deteriorated under Labor’s neglect.

Northern Grampians and the shires of Buloke, Central Goldfields, Hepburn, Loddon, Ararat, and Pyrenees will all receive funding under the restored Country Roads and Bridges Program.

People in rural Victoria are over-represented in the road toll. In 2017, 156 lives were lost on roads in rural Victoria, compared to 102 on roads in Melbourne.

The Country Roads and Bridges Program will give rural Victorians the safe and reliable infrastructure they deserve.

Comments attributable to Leader of the Opposition, Matthew Guy:

The Liberals will get Victoria moving with the high-quality, safe roads and infrastructure regional and rural Victorians deserve.

Daniel Andrews is the Premier for Melbourne, I’ll be the Premier for all Victorians.

Comments attributable to Member for Ripon, Louise Staley:

Our local roads and infrastructure are the critical link for parents taking the kids to school, for farmers getting product to market and for the jobs that keep our communities moving.

Restoring this program will make a real difference for local roads in our region– it’ll make our towns more accessible and it will support jobs in our region.